Student Daily Reflection

[246] Isa 49:8-15
Ps 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18
John 5:17-30

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer
The Daily Reflections

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my wordand believes in the one who sent mehas eternal life and will not come to condemnation,but has passed from death to life

Today’s gospel reading doesn’t start on a high note. Jesus has just healed someone on the Sabbath and the Jews, who teach and live against that, truly want to kill Jesus. Jesus doesn’t follow the typical Jewish customs. They perceive him as sinning. I truly like how Jesus responded to the accusation. Obviously, Jesus wasn’t timid or even apologetic for healing on the Sabbath because, to him, it wasn’t a sin.

He goes off to say that the Father, his Father, continues his work on the Sabbath. Fortunately for us, this is true. I know that I cannot imagine how life would be if we couldn’t even, say, pray on the Sabbath because that is God’s day off. We can pray to God, and he can help us. Even for those who do not know God, he is still working in their lives. This is a truly bold statement on the part of Jesus. He would have to be either crazy or right to assert such. Obviously, we take the right answer to his assertions.

I like the quote above because, in truth, of one particular word: hear. When we truly hear Jesus’ words in the gospel (and by hear, I mean truly hear, reflect on, and understand), we come to believe. We can too easily go to church and hear the gospel, but not actually hear it. Just one of those in-one-ear-and-out-the-other types of hearing. I know that I, myself, am guilty of it, as well (especially here, in another language, where I have to focus 110% to understand what the priest and readers read of the day’s passages). If we just put a little more effort in on our part, our understanding and works can amaze us. We can grow closer to Jesus and his Father and deepen our faith. We can learn about ourselves. In that, then, I hope that we, especially in this time of preparing for Easter, can all truly hear the Word and believe, and then we will have eternal life.